After the festivities of Christmas and New Year celebrations come to a close, Valentine’s Day often feels like it appears out of nowhere and can catch you and your skin off guard! If there’s ever a day you want your skin to be in great shape it’s Valentine’s Day.
Whether you’re celebrating with a loved one or celebrating you, here are our must have beauty tools for a Valentine’s Day self-care facial or last minute pick-me-up for a pre-date glow up.
Before indulging in your chosen beauty tool ritual it’s important to prep your skin, ensuring it is clean and hydrated to optimise the skin tool’s benefits.
Double Cleanse
You may be wondering why it’s recommended to cleanse your face twice if you’ve already washed it thoroughly the first time. Double cleansing can seem like just another time-consuming step in your skincare routine, but it’s actually very important. The first cleanse will dissolve makeup, dirt and excess oil. The second cleanse will “clean” the skin, allowing the active ingredients in your cleanser and leave on products to do their job.
For a first cleanse we recommend an oil cleanser for all skin types. Starting with an oil cleanse is the most gentle and effective way to remove heavy eye makeup, SPF, foundation, impurities and excess oil. Our Marula Oil Cleanser contains a lightweight blend of natural oils that will gently dissolve makeup while restoring moisture balance and repairing the skin’s barrier.
A second cleanse should be completed using a gel or cream cleanser suited to your skin type. This will provide a deeper clean and allow the ingredients to cleanse, exfoliate and balance your skin accordingly.
Exfoliate
If you’re applying makeup before heading out to celebrate, clean, flake-free skin is essential for smooth makeup application. Staying in for some self-care? Exfoliation is an essential part of the process when indulging in an at-home facial. Opt for exfoliants that are non-abrasive and contain naturally derived AHA for a gentle but effective exfoliation.
We recommend:
LAMAV’s AHA Face Exfoliant is for anyone with oily or acne prone skin. If you’re skin is a little more on the dry or sensitive side try LAMAV’s Jojoba Exfoliating Scrub for a gentle but effective exfoliation.
Hydrate
Dry skin makes a complexion look dull and tired and can result in uneven makeup application, exaggerated fine lines and imperfections. Applying moisturiser after a deep clean and exfoliation is key for a flawless makeup base and is essential when following with beauty tools to massage the skin. A moisturiser suitable for your skin type is non-negotiable and applying a facial oil prior to using skincare tools such as the Gua Sha and Kansa Wand is necessary to help the tool glide over the skin.
Optional Glow Up Extras
If you’re short on time and are chasing an instant glow for Valentine’s Day, here are 2 products that will instantly boost radiance.
LAMAV’s Rose Hydrating Mist Spray
One of our handbag essentials, use this as a toner, setting spray or hydrating boost over makeup in between work and dinner. A must have for those who don’t have time to complete a skincare and makeup overhaul in between work and play.
LAMAV’s Anti-Ageing Face Tan Serum
Apply this lightweight serum the night before or the morning of your Valentine’s date for a burst of organic bio-actives and a healthy glow - minus the smell or stickiness that often comes with self-tanning products.
Now that your skin is prepped, it’s time to indulge in some self-care to boost your pre-date glow or wind down for a relaxing night in. Beauty and skincare tools hold many immediate and long term benefits to the skin, each with their own unique method of use. Whether you have 5 minutes prior to pre-date makeup application or an hour to enjoy these rituals at home, you’ll notice relaxed facial muscles and an immediate boost in radiance to your complexion.
LAMAV’S AYURVEDIC KANSA WAND
Made of teak wood and bronze, the Kansa Wand has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic healing traditions to assist with balancing the doshas and unblocking energy channels to restore and rebalance the body’s natural healing mechanisms. LAMAV’s Ayurvedic Kansa Wand promotes improved circulation and lymphatic drainage to help detoxify and revitalise dull, tired skin. Regular facial massage using our Kansa Wand can assist to boost collagen production, relieve tension, and reduce puffiness.
How to use LAMAV’s Kansa Wand:
The Kansa Wand gives the best results when used with LAMAV’s facial oil and creating circular motions with medium to firm pressure over the face.
Start between your eyebrows and run up towards the hairline using either spiral motions or long firm strokes, working your way out to each side of the forehead.
Massage around the eyes in circular motions on each individual eye or you can create a “figure 8” with the Kansa wand for a continuous massage across the entire eye and forehead area. Hello relaxation!
Use long sweeping motions from the chin to the jawline and cheeks to your ears.
The Kansa Wand is also an excellent tool for relieving tension around the temple and jaw area. Use firm circular motions to target these areas and instantly melt away headaches and muscle tenseness.
Speaking of tension, we tend to hold a lot of stress in our neck and shoulder area, and the Kansa Wand is a great tool for massage not just on the face, but over the upper body too. Use firm upward strokes around the neck, upper shoulder and décolletage areas to ease tension and instantly melt away stress.
LAMAV’S QUARTZ GUA SHA & FACIAL ROLLER SET
LAMAV’s Gua Sha and Facial Roller Set is an award winning favourite for a reason. Used weekly, these tools provide many benefits for overall skin health, such as aiding lymphatic drainage, reducing inflammation and encouraging collagen production. These tools are also helpful to have in your skincare kit when you need a last minute pick me up to de-puff and improve circulation to refresh dull and tired skin. They’ll also help the actives in your leave on skincare products absorb more effectively into the skin!
How to use LAMAV’s Gua Sha:
Complete your normal skincare routine - cleanse, exfoliate, moisturise.
Finish with your favourite LAMAV facial oil to ensure you have a smooth base for the Gua Sha to glide over the skin without tugging.
Hold the curved side of the Gua Sha to your face at a 45 degree angle and use a pressure that is comfortable for you to work along your jawline and chin moving up towards your hairline.
Starting below the cheekbone, work up and outwards towards the ear on each side.
Working with gentle pressure around the eyes, use the small curved edge to gently glide from the inner to the outer eye and over the brow bone towards the temples.
Finish on the forehead using the large flat side of the Gua Sha to work from brow bone to hairline.
How to use LAMAV’s Facial Roller:
Complete your normal skincare routine - cleanse, exfoliate, moisturise.
LAMAV’s Facial Roller can be used morning or night and with or without facial oil as the rollers will gently glide across the skin without dragging.
Always working upwards, use the wide roller on larger areas of the face such as the forehead, cheeks and jawline.
Ease tension and de-puff the delicate eye area with the smaller roller working from inner to the outer eye area to instantly soothe and smooth tired under eyes.
For an instant pick me up in the morning or before your Valentines date, you can keep your roller in a sterile bag in the refrigerator and treat yourself to a cooling facial massage to de-puff while boosting circulation for a last minute glow prior to makeup application.
